THE Otago Daikly Times

Otago Daily Times, Issue 33, 23 December 1861, Page 4

THE Otago Daikly Times

" Inveniam viam aut facia m."

MONDAY", DECEMBER. 23, 1861

The Witness, iv a long article, professing t° be devoted to the vindication of provincial institutions, tells us, the Daily Times, m patronising terms, that we understand nothing at all about them. ,v Indeed," says our contemporary, "the whole of our political affairs, the nature of the Constitution and the double j Government—General and Provincial—are j quite incomprehensible to all but those who have grown up under our peculiar institutions. " To this knock-down style of argument there is no replying; if a lengthened apprenticeship is a necessary qualification before venturing an. opinion on Provincial politics, aye, in our thirty-third number, are debarred the privilege of even alluding to them, and the new comers must consent to a prolonged period of Provincial political ostracism. °We are doubtful, however, of the justice as well as of the expediency, of the sentence, and must decline to be bound by the fiat of outlawry the Witness has chosen to deliver. We are not at all sure whether persons avho have not been mixed up with Provincial politics are not better judges on abstract questions relating to them, than those whose opinions are necessarily biassed by the personal considerations with which they are entwined. True the latter may have more-knowledge ol detail, but this very detail obscures the vision, and prevents them obtaining that large clear view of the state of affairs that is opened to the unclouded eyes of those who are enabled to form an opinion without caring an iota on whom it reflects. Free from the personal enmities of either side, the followers of Dick or of Walker are perfectly the same to the unprejudiced observer. If aye avere to defer to our contemporary's doctrine, aye should have to consider, on the same principle, that judges were incompetent to try cases unless they dwelt in the locality where the offence avas committed, and were acquainted avith the details before the evidence was brought before them As we cannot concede this, so we cannot agree with our contemporary '• that the late session of the Provincial Council avas evidently an event totally inexplicable to that portion of the community avhich arrived amongst us within the last six months." We are rather inclined to think that its causes are more explicable to the new comers than to the old residents.

A story is told of a patient at avhose bedside two soi disant doctors attended. One avas a qualified medical man, the other a barber, whose ignorance on medical subjects avas onh>exceeded by his pretensions. But the patient did not know 7 hoav to chose between them. Both professed fo understand medicine, and the professions of the unqualified man were louder than those of his qualified brother. At last the barber settled the matter hy hurl ing at his rival's head a string of what he designed to be understood as " canine" Latin, but avhich avas a senseless jargon, incomprehensible to himself or to others. The patient watched the countenance of the listening Esculapius, and gathered from it that the barber's learned quotations were not intelligible to him. This was enough ; the man avho could speak a language which the other could not understand must be the cleverer, and the qualified doctor was ignominiously dismissed. Now, avithout hinting that our contemporary is by any means an. empirical pretender to political science, he certainly adopts the same course as- the barber ; he starts off by asserting that aye are unfit to judge of provincial politics, and to prove it he hurls at us a series of personal allusions avith which aye confess to be unacquainted. The major portion of the article is filled with references to Mr. Dick and his Spoon, " Merchant Princes," " Customers," and a variety of other references evidently possessing a latent meaning. W re confess to not understanding them, and must only hazard the opinion that if their comprehension is necessary to a proper knowledge of Provincial affairs, these must be in a very dicky condition.

But let our contemporary consider for a moment whether he has not himself exposed the fallacy of his own views. He commences avith discussing the principle and practice of Provincial Goa7ernments, but instead of keeping to his subject which really is an interesting one, his profound knowledge of its details takes him off the line, and he wanders amidst a perfect labyrinth of references utterly foreign to the real matter he is dealing with. Hoav can Provincial institutions be understood if it is impossible to discuss them without rushing off at a tangent as soon as the subject is introduced. Our comtemporary does not, however, take up a novel view, he goes over a ground that has often been trodden before, —the attempting to defeat the arguments supplied by reason, by the technical knowledge supplied by experience. Need we remind him of the attack made on Chatham on the score of his youthful inexperience, and of the reply of the inspired orator perhaps the most epigrammatical that has ever been delivered in the House of Commons, in which he vindicated the vigour of youth against the imbecility of age. A controversy of this kind is not one into which as a rule we would enter. On most subjects we would be stoically indifferent to the antagonism which the vieavs we expressed

.excited in the minds, or rather pens of our weekly contemporaries. But the Witness, in j libeling us, libels the very institutions of. avhich it professes to be the champion.^ It ] maintains that it is " quite im possible" to a model these institutions after the forms of re-; sponsible government in other places. InT other avords, it considers that there is a natural; inherent antagonism between the several bodies j that compose the state politic. By "mutual; > concession and compromise" it admits that, antagonism may be kept down ; but if we unimderstand it rightly, it regards discord as the ] normal, harmony as the abnormal condition ] of Provincial Government. On a previous ( i occasion we showed at some length that a certain amount of concession amongst the | several bodies of the state avas a necessary j condition of popular Government. But it is j not for a moment to be supposed that the j concession required is either difficult to ob-' 5 ' serve, or exceptional in its character. On ■ the contrary, it is of so easy a nature, that in 1 the countries where Constitutional Govern- 1 ; merit has prevailed some time, nothing could j , interfere with it but studied premeditated hos ] t tility. But it is said that the conditions that ] exist elsewhere are wanting in Provincial Go- i ; vernments. Granted there is a difference, but ( : the difference is one that rather favours con- ; • stitutional institutions. Instead of the head ] >of the government being stationary, even he i is removable. The gradations are even more ! , numerous than avith older forms of govern- t . ment. First there is the elected Superinten- j . dent, then the elected House; from the House ] . the Execute Council is chosen; it should re- < i present the majority,' and act strictly as the J constitutional adviser of the Superintendent j If it be unable to maintain the position it takes 3 up, the Council, by negativing its resolutions, ] '• can unseat it. The majority then should be s , called into office, and the Superintendent accept ( an Executive chosen from amongst it. There is j no process conceivable by which, avith the-exer-cisc of a fair share of judgment and discretion, 1 an}'' insuperable difficulty could occur from the < strictest observance of constitutional forms. ' As usual, it is the clumsy workmen, not the j tools that are in fault. The so-called crisis : i which occurred last session, and avhich may ] be said to be yet only partially patched up, < oaves its origin to the departure from, not the 1 observance of, constitutional forms. The opposition first persisted in identifying the j Superintendent with the Executive, and then < in defiance of all recognised practice, with a' ] working majority of the Council to aid it, ] • persisted in demanding a dissolution. If } constitutional forms are departed from, they^ must not be blamed for tbe difficulties their ,1 uon-observance occasions. j1 < > "

On Friday, an accident happened to Mr. Young, 1 the Superintendent of the prisoners at the goal, by \ the falling in of some earth upon him. He avas; cona^eyed into the prison, and promptly attended by Dr. Wilson, avhen it avas found that the shoulder < was dislocated and tavo ribs broken. Mr. Young i is, we are happy to learn, doing well, and will be] convalescent very shortly. While he avas being!, removed from the gronnd, a prisoner, named.] Wilson, under sentence of nine months for larceny,: managed to effect his escape. i

An accident occurred at Waitahuna Hill, on Saturday, through the upsetting of a dray, by which the horse, a arery araluable animal, broke its leg. The driver fortunately avas unhurt. :